Cotton-baling apparatus



(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

C. L. MELGHBR. COTTON BALTNG APPARATUS.

Patented Sept. 14,1897..

o. L. MBLGHER. COTTON BALING PPARATUS.

(No Model.)

lhyirn *raras CIIARLES L. MELCIIER, OF SVISS ALP, TEXAS.

COTTON-BALING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 590,110, datedSeptember 14, 1897.

l Application led July 28, 1896. Serial No. 600,804. (No model.)

Be it known that I, CHARLES L. MELCHER, of Swiss Alp," in the county ofFayette and State of Texas, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Cotton-Ealing Apparatus or Compresses; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enableV others skilled in the art to which itpertains to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, which form part of this specification.

My invention relates' to improvements in cottonfbaling apparatus orcompresses of that type in which the cotton is received directly Y fromthe gin or gins and condensed into a rope and then Woundupon a spool,all of which will be fully described hereinafter, and particularlypointed out in the claims.

The object of my invention is to provide a machine of cheap and simpleconstruction adapted to twist and compress the cotton at the initialpoint of ginning and in a contin ned operation with that of ginning,whereby I avoid the expense and labor occasioned by the handling of thecotton during its storage and transportation to the neighboring com,-press and also the'expense of said compres` sion, while at the same time`I prod ucesuch condensation of thecotton as will secure the cheap ratesof 4transportation accorded cotton which has been compressed to thestandard degree of density. v

I am aware thatlmachines have heretofore been devised to compress thecotton' as it is delivered from the gin, one formbeing to force thecotton lintv into a rotating funnel intended to collect the cotton atits reduced end and twist it, it then being caught between feed-rollers,which deliver it to a spooling apparatus. l find that in an apparatus ofthis character the cotton must first be formed into a definite andtangible form by suitable mechanism, such as a web, then shaped intoapproximately a circular form in cross-section, and afterward subjectedto the twisting action. It is found that the cotton will not shapeitself into a definite form in a revolving funnel, butwill simplycollect and clog, and that feed-rollers situated at its reduced endcannot draw the cotton therefrom which is fed in the form of lint, andmy invention .diffe-rs therefrom in first putting the cotton into adefinite and tangible form-as, for instance, a web, which web, beingcaught by rollers, is shaped into approximately a circular form, andwhen so treated it is in a form capable of standing the severe twistingaction necessary to properly and efficiently condense it.

Another form of machine has been devised which receives the lint andcondenses it into a web, but I iind that a pressure upon a travcling webwill not condense the cotton nearly so much as twisting, as will bereadily understood, for the reason that as soon as the cotton has passedbetween the rolls it expands, there being nothing to hold it against eX-pansion, as does the twisting of the cotton7 and for the further reasonthat the cotton when formedv into a web has not sufficient strength tostand a pull suflicient to compress it upon a revolving roller to anygreat degree, as does a twisting action; and I also find that a web,though definite and tangible in form, has not sufficient strength to becaught and twisted without the intervention of a ineansto first compressthe web into approximately a rope. When it has been so treated, it thenhassufiicient strength to be subjected to the twisting action, and as itis being twisted its strength correspondingly increases and itiscapable'of being condensed to a great degree. It will thus be seenthat my invention differs radically from both of these previouslydevisedmachines.

I am also aware that in the process of forming a yarn from wool after ithas beencarded Y and the fibers specially arranged to form a fairlystrong web it has been passed through a funnel to shape intoapproximately a rope form, but this differs from my invention in thatthe process requires a previous preparation of the wool, so that whencompacted into a web it will be sufficiently strong to be drawn througha funnel, while the same method could not be followed in shaping cotton,for a cotton web formed from loose lint is not sufficiently strong to bedrawn through a funnel for shaping into circular or rope form, but mustbe so shaped by'a member `or members which are traveling with thecotton, such as IOO cord form.

machine and then formed into a web, the web may stand the strain ofpulling through a' funnel, but such a method as before stated cannot bepracticed in connection with cotton lint gathered direct from the gin,as is necessary to carry out my invention. My invention thereforediffers from the wool-yarn method referred to in gathering the looselint and then taking the web formed by rollers which are traveling -andcompressing it into a rope form, whereby it is relieved of that strainwhich will disintegrate the web and defeat the result aimed at in mymachine.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, Figurel is a side elevationof an apparatus embodying my invention, the same being shown inconnection with gins and condensers. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of thesame, the spooling apparatus being omitted. Fig. 3 is a detached View ofthe feeding-rollers for condensing the lint into a circular or Fig. 4 isthe bale after it is completed and taken from the machine.

1 indicates an ordinary gin or condenser, and 2 a flue so situated inrelation to the gin or condenser as to receive the cotton therefrom.

lVhile I here show but one gin, I wish it understood that the inventionis intended and adapted to be used in connection with a series of ginsplaced at one or both sides of the flue, as may be desired.

Situated at the outlet end of the flue is a condensing apparatus to bepresently described, and situated between the cotton gin or condenserand the said condensing apparatus is a blower 3, which has the doublefunction of blowing and sucking owing to its location in the trough. Itserves to draw or suck the cotton from. the condenser or gin as itpasses into the trough, and to thence force it to the condensingapparatus at the outlet end of the line or trough. It is found that ablower placed at the outer end of the flue will cause the cotton to clogtherein, while when situated as here shown it draws it throughout thelength of the iiue in contradistinetion to pushing it, and the pushingis only a very short distance to the condensing apparatus at the outletend ofthe flue.

The lint-cotton within the flue is sucked and forced to and between therollers 4. These rollers are situated, preferably, in an uprightposition and are formed, preferably, of woven wire, whereby the airforced by the forcer 3 will be permitted to pass on through the end ofthe tlue,which is practically closed thereby, and also serving to moreelfectually grasp the cotton and. draw it through the fine. The functionof these rollers l is to receive and collect the cotton lint and to formit into a definite tangible form, such as a web, which adapts it for thesucceeding steps, as will be fully described hereinafter.

Situated just beyond the condensing-rollers t are the rollers 5 and 6,which contract the web as it passes from the rollers i into a circularor rope form, which fits it for the twisting action by giving itconsiderable strength, as will be clearly understood. The upper roller 5is what I term a male7V roller, having a shallow U-shaped groove, asclearly shown, and the lower roller G a female7 roller, having a verydeep circumferential groove coacting with the U-shaped groove of theupper male roller 5, both serving to form a circular opening, asillustrated. The grooves of the male and female rollers 5 and o' areprovided with blunt transverse ribs 7 as shown, which causes a bitingaction upon the cotton and draws it along and also prevents it frombeing forced backward or away from the rollers. Situated just beyondthese male and female rollers is a twisting and spooling device 10 ofany desired form or construction. As the spooling device forms no partof my invention and is well understood by those skilled in the art it isnot necessary to enter into a detail description thereof. The functionof the twisting and spooling` device is to twist the cotton after it hasbeen properly treated to enable it to stand the twisting action. It isthen wound upon a spool, as shown in Fig. 1, ready to be transmitted forthe use of the spinner. By reference to Fig. 1 it will be seen that thetwisting apparatus twists the lint to the bite of the frictional pointof the male and female rollers 5 and 6, thus effectually twisting thelint and forcing all air therefrom and condensing it to the standarddegree of density before being wound into spool form.

12 is a frame upon which the condensing apparatus is supported at theoutlet end of the trough 2. The frame is so constructed as to supportthe upright rollers 4: and the circular condensing-rollers 5 and G.

The shaft 14 of the upper male roller 5 carries a drivin g-pulley 15 andthe opposite ends of this shaft 11 are provided withbeveled gears 16,meshed with bevel-gears 17, situated upon shafts 1S, extending parallelto each other, as shown. g The opposite ends of these shafts 18 areprovided with bevel-gears 19, meshing with gears 20 upon the shafts ofthe upright condensing-rollers 4. A train of gear 21 is preferablysituated between the rollers 4, which insures them moving regularly anduniformly and at the saine speed and in the direction indicated byarrow. Also situated between the shafts of the male and female rollers 5and G are a series of gear-wheels 23,

IOO

IIO

which serve the same function of feeding the rollers uniformly and atthe same speed and in the direction indicated by arrow.

A machine of this character can be constructed at a very slight cost andis within the reach of nearly every cotton producer, and by such meanshe is enabled to condense ready for shipment with all the advantages ofthe rates to any desired market and also effect a saving in hauling itto the point of compression to reduce the mass or bale to the standarddensity required by transportation companies'in order to getadvantageous rates.

Various changes in the details of my invention will suggest themselvesto those skilled in the art, the essential features being the forming ofthe lint into a definite tangible continuous strip or web, which isafterward compressed into a rope form, whereby it has su flicientstrength to stand the twisting action.

Placed at the outlet end of the trough and engaging or practicallyengaging the surface of the rollers 4 are the leather wings 25,whichserve to prevent waste of the lint, and an apron 2G is placed betweenthe female roller 0 and the rollers 4 to prevent waste of the lint atthis point. Having thus described myinvention, what I claim, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A cotton lint-compressing apparatus comprising a lint-collectingtrough or chamber, receiving collecting and compressing rollers situatedat the outlet end of the trough or chamber which compress the cottoninto a web, rollers situated outside of the said collecting andcompressing rollers and journalcd at right angles thereto between whichthe web is compressed edgewise into rope form, and a twisting mechanismsituated beyond the lastnamed rollers receiving and twisting the cottonas it passes in rope form therefrom, substantially as described;

2. A cotton-lint compressing or condensing apparatus comprising areceiving and collecting chamber into which the lint is fed from thegin, collecting and compressing rollers situated at the outlet end ofthe chamber which collect the lint and compress it into weblform,coacting periphera-lly-grooved rollers j ournaled at right angles to thecollecting and compressing rollers and situated on a line drawn betweenthem which receive the web and compress it into rope form, and atwisting apparatus receiving the rope form lint and compressing the samebytwisting it, substantially as described. v

A cottonlint-compressing apparatus comprising a collecting ue or chamberinto which the lint is. fed from the gin, collecting and compressingrollers situated at the outlet end of the flue for compressing thecotton into web form, a blower situated between the gin and the rollersfor drawing and forcing the lint to and against the collecting-rollers,

rollers situated outside of the collecting and compressing rollers whichreceive and compress the web into a rope form, and a twisting apparatusreceiving the rope-shaped lint and compressing it bya twisting action,substantially as described.

4. A cotton-condensing apparatus comprising a receiving-chamber for thelint, collecting and compressing rollers at the outlet end of thechamber which collect and compress the lint into a Web shape, rollerssituated outside of the said collecting and compressing rollers andjournaled at right angles thereto,

`said rollers having peripheral grooves, one

roller being a female and receiving the other a male roller, whereby theweb-shaped cotton is compressed into rope form, and a twisting mechanismreceiving the rope-shaped lint and compressing the same by a twistingaction, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

, cnARLns L. MELCHER.

Witnesses:

AUG. STINMANN, J. PAUSENANG.

